SportPosted at: Apr 13 2021 7:12PM NZ Cricket Awards: Kane Williamson bags Sir Richard Hadlee medal for 4th time
Wellington, Apr 13 (UNI) Kane Williamson, New Zealand captain, won the Sir Richard Hadlee medal for the fourth time for excelling across formats and was also adjudged the ‘Test Player of the Year’ in the country’s annual cricket awards on Tuesday.
Devon Conway won the men’s ODI and T20 Player of the Year during the 2020-21 awards season which was conducted digitally for a second year running because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Williamson was instrumental in New Zealand winning all their four Tests in their home summer. His incredible perfomance during the summer helped him clinch the two awards alongside the Redpath Cup for first-class batting, after he amassed a whopping 639 runs in just four innings at an average of 159.
In bowler friendly conditions, Williamson, the number one ranked Test batsman in ICC standings, recorded his top career-best score of 251 against the West Indies in Hamilton.
He also notched a Boxing Day Test century on his home ground of Bay Oval in Tauranga, before adding another double-century against Pakistan in Christchurch – to help the Black Caps book their place in the ICC World Test Championship Final.
"Going into the Test summer - there was that Championship final carrot and there was a real drive there for the guys," Williamson told Sir Richard Hadlee on a phone call, upon receiving the news of the award.
"Although it seemed a long way off, winning four Tests before you've started one is a pretty lofty goal. To spend some time at the crease personally and make contributions towards that, certainly proud as a leader and a player in this side that we were able to achieve some of those things and we're looking forward to that final,'' he added.
Conway was rewarded for a fine run in his first international season with the men’s ODI and T20 International Player of the Year awards.
He beat the likes of Glenn Phillip (366 runs at 40.6), Tim Southee (21 wickets at 16.7) and Ish Sodhi (20 wickets at 15.4) to win the T20I award.
The left-hander, who made his debut this season, scored 473 runs at an average of 59.12 and played a vital role in New Zealand winning every T20I series in the summer.
Conway’s ODI form was just as dominant as he plundered 225 runs at 75 in the three-game series against Bangladesh, including his maiden international century at the Basin Reserve in March and hence bagged the ODI Player of the Year as well.
Kyle Jamieson and Finn Allen were the other winners. The 6'8" fast bowler picked up 27 wickets across formats, including a 11-wicket haul against Pakistan in the final Test in Christchurch, which resulted in him winning the 'the Winsor Cup for first-class bowling'.
Meanwhile, Allen won the Super Smash Player of the Year for scoring 512 runs, which in turn helped Wellington win the tournament.
Among the women, Amelia Kerr’s all-round skills and fielding prowess saw her win the Super Smash and the T20 awards. She played a key role in the team’s upset wins over Australia in Brisbane before Christmas and in Napier last month.
Stand-in captain Amy Satterthwaite was named the women’s ODI Player of the Year, after taking some time off to have a baby and returning to the fold to score 304 runs at 38, including a top score of 119 not-out against England in Dunedin.
Former batsman Jeff Crowe was honoured with the Bert Sutcliffe Medal for outstanding services to cricket. Crowe represented the country in 39 Tests and 75 ODIs between 1983 and 1990, captained the side on 22 occasions and was later appointed manager of the New Zealand team.
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